Yemen Quagmire - Changing Dynamics

Posted by Raphaydeena
on December 27, 2017

Yemen QuagmireRapidly Changing Dynamics

- Saleh ruled Yemen for more than 3decades/ he was a Houthi but was thought of as a Saudi puppet/ he allowed Saudi-backed Al-Islah Party to work in Yemen/ Al-Islah is thought to be originator of militancy in Yemen/ After Arab Spring, Saleh allied with the Houthis/ he withdrew from Houthis, joined Saudi/UAE again in Dec2017, was killed by a Houthi sniper in Sana'a 4th Dec

- 2015, Saudi-led coalition was formed with UAE, Senegal, Sudan & Qatar for War on Yemen/ by 2017 UAE- backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) rules most of southern Yemen

- June2017 Qatar Crisis, Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt cut ties with Qatar alleging it to be accomplice to terrorism, Muslim Brotherhood & Iran/ Qatar is now on Houthi’s side

- Don’t forget, Yemen has been a playground for the British & US for long. Since imperial times Britain has manipulated Yemen’s politics by occupying Aden. After 9/11, 2001, Saleh visited US, pledging to assist in War on Terror, from that time CIA & MI6 have operated with impunity, killing ‘suspects’ who are exterminated without confirmations or trials & civilians killed along with them were called collateral damage

- In 2015 alone Britain sold close to 1billion pounds worth weapons to Saudi Arabia, while the US made a record $60bn in US military sales to Saudi Arabia in the same year. Moreover, most aerial strikes in the Yemen War have been conducted by US and British air force, which makes both of them equal partners of the war

- In May 2016, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Houthis said "everything that is happening in our region serves the Zionists" & “Israel of taking part in the war in Yemen directly by fighting the war & indirectly, by training and inspecting the Saudi forces”

- Today as Yemen faces a dire humanitarian crisis with 7 million people on brink of starvation – it is trapped in bitter infighting as PM Hadi and STC try to make alliances with tribes and groups that were previously loyal to Saleh or the Houthis